Aaqib's best performances in internationals came against India. He took 54 wickets in his 39 ODIs against India at an average of 24.64 – 6.79 runs lower than his career ODI average. Four of his six ODI Man of the Match awards were against India.

Aaqib took a hat-trick in an ODI against India in October 1991, aged only 19 years and 81 days. He remains the youngest player to have taken an ODI hat-trick. He was a key member of the Pakistan team that won the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He coached Pakistan's U-19 team to victory in the 2004 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Aaqib is married to Farzana Burkey, sister of singer Adeel Burkey, and has one daughter named Aaqiba.

Currently, Aaqib is chief coach of the National Cricket Academy in Pakistan. He is also associated with The Computer House, a Pakistani computer hardware company. During this time Aaqib has been helping with the development of the Afghanistan national cricket team. He is currently the bowling coach of the Pakistan cricket team. With Waqar Younis the head coach and Intikhab Alam the manger.